Around the Kitchen Table: Celebrating our special history
There’s been a lot of hoopla surrounding America’s 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence – reenactments, parades, speeches, the Freedom Truck, fireworks – but as the excitement fades, what have we really gained from all the celebrating?
I’ve been wrestling with how best to keep patriotism alive and well in my own heart, even while acknowledging the impermanence of the present fervor.
One of the ways I’ve been celebrating is by re-reading our founding documents – not reading “about” them but reading the actual documents. The Declaration is only 1,350 words and takes just minutes to read, but it reminded me that our founding fathers put everything we need to solve our current ills inside those few words, if we would only apply them.
Reading the Constitution, letters, biographies and other preserved writings is a great way to reacquaint or discover for the first time what the American story is all about.
In reading these documents and the amazing stories surrounding them, I feel every American would maybe come to a clearer understanding of just how incredible this 250-year-old experiment in self-government really is and how it came about.
A word of caution – many writers have tainted our true history with their own version of the “truth,” trying to rewrite our actual history to reflect their own political or ideological agendas. It would be wise to steer clear of these and choose instead to seek out the original historical documents instead. You have a right – an obligation really, as a citizen – to read the facts and make up your own mind about the American story. Most people are smarter than the “powers that be” think they are and can discern for themselves what is truth and what is an alternative presentation.
Some of what I’ve learned has made me very proud. Some has saddened me or given me pause. But all of it awakened a desire to know more about this wonderfully impossible idea that, managed through the hand of Providence, shaped one of the most powerful, generous and good nations ever established.
One of the best ways to honor America’s 250h anniversary is to recall these people and events that make up our colorful history. Not just long-ago events, but those in more recent history as well. Sharing family stories and listening to older relatives talk about what it was like to live through war times, financial hardships and personal sacrifices can help the younger generations connect what they read in books or see on the screen to real people and real events. We are all connected to each other, no matter our race, religion or creed. We are Americans – and that make us all a part of the American family.
Through reading, I learned things like:
How George Washington’s inaugural Bible escaped destruction on Sept. 11, 2001.
How Captain John Smith, using a Bible verse as a ruling, saved the Jamestown colony from perishing in autumn 1608.
How Harvard was established as a place for Biblical education with the Bible as its centerpiece.
How Princeton University had its roots in a simple log cabin school.
That Patrick Henry in his famous “give me liberty or give me death” speech quoted from the book of Jeremiah.
How John Quincy Adams witnessed the Battle of Bunker Hill as a seven-year-old and it haunted him the rest of his life.
Found what passage astronaut Bill Anders read on Christmas Eve 1968 that caused Mission Control and all of America to weep.
Which president took the oath of office on a Gideon Bible.
Which president’s last words were “Nearer, my God, to Thee.”
Who wrote American’s first chemistry textbook and was one of the youngest signers of the Declaration of Independence.
When Thanksgiving became an official holiday.
While these interesting facts probably won’t change the political and cultural environment we have today, they are a window into our history and the legacy that has been entrusted to us as citizens. Learning for ourselves the importance of our Declaration of Independence and the Constitution can prepare us to make better decisions.
Hopefully, we can carry the torch of freedom and liberty into the future as a living part of this exceptional experiment called the United States of America.
Cousin Susan’s Red, White & Blue Dessert
1 14 oz. can Eagle Brand condensed milk
½ cup lemon juice
2 teaspoons grated lemon peel
2 cups of plain yogurt
1 cup miniature marshmallows
½ cup chopped pecans
1 pint strawberries, sliced
1 cup blueberries
In large bowl combine milk, lemon juice and lemon peel. Mix well. Stir in yogurt, marshmallows and pecans. Add fruit last. Chill in refrigerator for 30 minutes and then pour onto graham cracker crust in a 13×9 pan. Cover and store in fridge.
by Tamra M. Bolton
